As Capt. John Fitzgerald mentioned he and I conversed at some length about this one and these in general.
I was aware of these back when they were originally issued. But at the time owning one wasn't very high up on my priority list.
I thought to myself, "well, maybe one day" (and thinking that perhaps I'd buy a used one floating around out there...good luck on that!)
Then I saw one on a gun auction site, but the auction had been closed, apparently with no sale.
I contacted the seller to see if it was still available?
They got back to me with the information that it was. There was also a note regarding the serial number, which appeared to be out of the S/N range for these being made by USFA. This one had some letters then the S/N "001".
Capt. Fitzgerald and I speculated over what this serial number could mean? Was this perhaps a prototype gun?
I ordered and paid for the revolver from the dealer (who was in an adjacent state, several hundred miles away) and had it delivered to my receiving FFL. When it arrived, to my surprise I discovered that this one was DIFFERENT from all the other "standard" USFA production guns!
In the photos shown on the auction site by the dealer, the size, color, and focus were not what we'd call clear, crisp, sharp. In them I could NOT see that this particular revolver did not have the customary CCH Frame that most of the production guns had, but rather was in all blue.
Trying to learn more about this one, and why it was different, I contacted USFA. In a few phone calls, I discovered after they did some checking for me that this revolver was 1 of 2, ordered at the same time, by a dealer in Georgia and that they had both been special ordered with (different) three letter prefixes plus the "001" designation. They also informed me that both revolvers had also been ordered with additional .45 ACP Cylinders.
In the course of our discussion, I also inquired about the actual production figures of this run of USFA "Buntlines" (probably more appropriately called "SAA Carbines" as that's what Colt had originally called them). What I already knew from discussing this with Capt. Fitzgerald was that USFA had announced that these were to be built by them in two different sets. One set, the "Deluxe Set" was to be supplied as 16" Revolvers, accompanied by their Detachable Skeleton Shoulder Stocks, a special Scabbard with provision for holding both the revolver and the stock on the outside, as well as a fitted wooden case, as was often the tradition with Colt's. This edition was to be limited to 50 sets. Then, there were going to be a "Standard Edition" that would include everything above EXCEPT the fitted wooden case. This was to be a run of 100 sets.
Doing some checking, my contacts at USFA revealed that in reality there were "Less than 35" of these made up, and that included BOTH configurations.
Now my curiousity was really peaked, and I contacted the dealer in Georgia to find out what they could tell me.
I was able to find and contact the dealer in Georgia, the very man who'd ordered both of these revolvers. He was a bit surprised to hear from me, but was most forthcoming with explaining the history of my particular revolver. "You're the 4th owner of this revolver (not including the dealer who recently fielded it). I ordered 2 of these, back in 1999. The one you have was ordered with a blued frame and its unique serial number. It was ordered as a gift for a close friend of mine (perhaps a relative from what I can see of the initials). It was ordered with an extra .45 ACP Cylinder. Mine is the identical revolver except mine has full engraving. Do you have any idea of what you have there and its rarity?"
I responded that I was somewhat familiar with these and realized they weren't to be found in most gun shops. He laughed and said, "The last time I checked with USFA, they had only produced about 20, and now they no longer have any frames or the special skeleton stocks available to make up any more. If you're wise, you'll hold onto that piece for a long while. It's quite rare and should be quite valuable."
We discussed a little more about the revolver's history, which this dealer was aware of, and it turned out that the original owner sold it at some time after it had been given to him. It then went into another owner's collection, however he died. His estate sold it, and apparently at that time the .45 ACP Cylinder was seperated, where it remains in a southern state, and did not go with the gun to the new buyer. The new buyer was from out west, and apparently (what I could find out from the seller to me) he later sold it or used it as a trade-in with the dealer I bought it from.
So, what else do I know about these and the originals?
Reading up on them in a couple of reference works and some other articles, I've read that Colt made up a total of 19 of them between 1876-1884. Of those 19, all but 2 were chambered for .45 Colt. The other 2 were chambered in .44-40. Of the 19, 17 were made with 16" barrels while 1 was made with a 12" barrel and another was made with a 10" barrel, all supplied as Carbines with swing up rear sight and detachable shoulder stocks.
Of the original 19, half (I don't know if this means 9 or 10?) are still known to exist in collections.
It appears that Colt only made 19 and USFA only made close to the same number.
More on this after I take it out and shoot it.
But, right now, with >10" of snow on the ground with a 1" crust of ice on top of that, it might not be this week!